Health workers’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards Hepatitis B infection in Northern Nigeria

Background: Infection by hepatitis B virus is one of the many challenges in public health today and the tenth leading cause of mortality worldwide. Research has shown that health-care personnel are at higher risk of acquiring the disease than the general population. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice among health workers towards hepatitis B infection in Northern Nigeria. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey with self-administered questionnaire to gather information from an Ear, Nose and Throat health-care professionals in a tertiary hospital in Northern Nigeria. The data collected was coded and analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Results: A similar numbers of males, 49.5% (53/107), and females, 50.5% (54/107) took part. The overall correctly answered knowledge questions by the professions was 76.9%. A one-way ANOVA between participants showed that there were significant difference between the profession groups in terms of knowledge scores (F4, 102 = 11.5, P< 0.001) and in terms of practice scores between the groups (F4, 102 = 4.1, P<0.01); however, there was no significant difference in attitude between the professional groups (F4, 102 = 0.6, P= 0.68). Multivariate analysis showed that health attendants had the best practice score and did not differ significantly to Doctors (β = −0.1, t =−0.9, P= 0.40). Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a gap in knowledge and lack of compliance to infection control and preventive measures among health-care professionals. There should be an increased in awareness through campaigns geared towards educating health-care personnel on the dangers of hepatitis B infection. Keywords: Health care workers, Hepatitis B infection, prevention and control, Knowledge, attitude and practice, Developing countrie

Higher derivative type II string effective actions, automorphic forms and E11

By dimensionally reducing the ten-dimensional higher derivative type IIA string theory effective action we place constraints on the automorphic forms that appear in the effective action in lower dimensions. We propose a number of properties of such automorphic forms and consider the prospects that E11 can play a role in the formulation of the higher derivative string theory effective action.Comment: 34 page

Estimation of Dietary Iron Bioavailability from Food Iron Intake and Iron Status

Currently there are no satisfactory methods for estimating dietary iron absorption (bioavailability) at a population level, but this is essential for deriving dietary reference values using the factorial approach. The aim of this work was to develop a novel approach for estimating dietary iron absorption using a population sample from a sub-section of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Data were analyzed in 873 subjects from the 2000–2001 adult cohort of the NDNS, for whom both dietary intake data and hematological measures (hemoglobin and serum ferritin (SF) concentrations) were available. There were 495 men aged 19–64 y (mean age 42.7±12.1 y) and 378 pre-menopausal women (mean age 35.7±8.2 y). Individual dietary iron requirements were estimated using the Institute of Medicine calculations. A full probability approach was then applied to estimate the prevalence of dietary intakes that were insufficient to meet the needs of the men and women separately, based on their estimated daily iron intake and a series of absorption values ranging from 1–40%. The prevalence of SF concentrations below selected cut-off values (indicating that absorption was not high enough to maintain iron stores) was derived from individual SF concentrations. An estimate of dietary iron absorption required to maintain specified SF values was then calculated by matching the observed prevalence of insufficiency with the prevalence predicted for the series of absorption estimates. Mean daily dietary iron intakes were 13.5 mg for men and 9.8 mg for women. Mean calculated dietary absorption was 8% in men (50th percentile for SF 85 µg/L) and 17% in women (50th percentile for SF 38 µg/L). At a ferritin level of 45 µg/L estimated absorption was similar in men (14%) and women (13%). This new method can be used to calculate dietary iron absorption at a population level using data describing total iron intake and SF concentration

Prediction models for short children born small for gestational age (SGA) covering the total growth phase. Analyses based on data from KIGS (Pfizer International Growth Database)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mathematical models can be developed to predict growth in short children treated with growth hormone (GH). These models can serve to optimize and individualize treatment in terms of height outcomes and costs. The aims of this study were to compile existing prediction models for short children born SGA (SGA), to develop new models and to validate the algorithms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Existing models to predict height velocity (HV) for the first two and the fourth prepubertal years and during total pubertal growth (TPG) on GH were applied to SGA children from the KIGS (Pfizer International Growth Database) - 1^styear: N = 2340; 2^ndyear: N = 1358; 4^thyear: N = 182; TPG: N = 59. A new prediction model was developed for the 3^rdprepubertal year based upon 317 children by means of the all-possible regression approach, using Mallow's C(p) criterion.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The comparison between the observed and predicted height velocity showed no significant difference when the existing prediction models were applied to new cohorts. A model for predicting HV during the 3^rdyear explained 33% of the variability with an error SD of 1.0 cm/year. The predictors were (in order of importance): HV previous year; chronological age; weight SDS; mid-parent height SDS and GH dose.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Models to predict growth to GH from prepubertal years to adult height are available for short children born SGA. The models utilize easily accessible predictors and are accurate. The overall explained variability in SGA is relatively low, due to the heterogeneity of the disorder. The models can be used to provide patients with a realistic expectation of treatment, and may help to identify compliance problems or other underlying causes of treatment failure.</p

Using assignment data to analyse a blended information literacy intervention: a quantitative approach

This research sought to determine whether a blended information literacy learning and teaching intervention could statistically significantly enhance undergraduates’ information discernment compared to standard face-to-face delivery. A mixture of face-to-face and online activities, including online social media learning, was used. Three interventions were designed to develop the information literacies of first-year undergraduates studying Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University and focused on one aspect of information literacy: the ability to evaluate source material effectively. An analysis was devised where written evaluations of found information for an assessment were converted into numerical scores and then measured statistically. This helped to evaluate the efficacy of the interventions and provided data for further analysis. An insight into how the information literacy pedagogical intervention and the cognitive processes involved in enabling participants to interact critically with information is provided. The intervention which incorporated social media learning proved to be the most successful learning and teaching approach. The data indicated that undergraduate students’ information literacy can be developed. However, additional long-term data is required to establish whether this intervention would have a lasting impact

Programmability of Chemical Reaction Networks

Motivated by the intriguing complexity of biochemical circuitry within individual cells we study Stochastic Chemical Reaction Networks (SCRNs), a formal model that considers a set of chemical reactions acting on a finite number of molecules in a well-stirred solution according to standard chemical kinetics equations. SCRNs have been widely used for describing naturally occurring (bio)chemical systems, and with the advent of synthetic biology they become a promising language for the design of artificial biochemical circuits. Our interest here is the computational power of SCRNs and how they relate to more conventional models of computation. We survey known connections and give new connections between SCRNs and Boolean Logic Circuits, Vector Addition Systems, Petri Nets, Gate Implementability, Primitive Recursive Functions, Register Machines, Fractran, and Turing Machines. A theme to these investigations is the thin line between decidable and undecidable questions about SCRN behavior

Higher versus lower positive end-expiratory pressure in acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome: systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis

We explain in detail how the work carried out on the transport connection release aspects in the framework of the OSI95 Connection-Mode Transport Service has led to the introduction of a graceful transport connection release facility and, later on, to an enhancement of the existing ISO/IEC abrupt transport connection release facility

Longevity of Crown Margin Repairs Using Glass Ionomer Cement: A Retrospective Study

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the survival time of crown margin repairs (CMRs) with glass ionomer and resin-modified glass ionomer cements on permanent teeth using electronic dental record (EDR) data. Methods: We queried a database of EDR (axiUm; Exan Group, Coquitlam, BC, Canada) in the Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD), Indianapolis, IN, USA, for records of patients who underwent CMRs of permanent teeth at the Graduate Operative Dentistry Clinic. Two examiners developed guidelines for reviewing the records and manually reviewed the clinical notes of patient records to confirm for CMRs. Only records that were confirmed with the presence of CMRs were retained in the final dataset for survival analysis. Survival time was calculated by Kaplan-Meier statistics, and a Cox proportional hazards model was performed to assess the influence of age, gender, and tooth type on survival time (a<0.05). Results: A total of 214 teeth (115 patients) with CMR were evaluated. Patient average age was 69.4 ± 11.7 years old. Posterior teeth accounted for 78.5% (n=168) of teeth treated. CMRs using glass ionomer cements had a 5-year survival rate of 62.9% and an annual failure rate (AFR) of 8.9%. Cox proportional-hazards model revealed that none of the factors examined (age, gender, tooth type) affected time to failure. Conclusion: The results indicate the potential of CMRs for extending the functional life of crowns with defective margins, thus reducing provider and patient burden of replacing an indirect restoration. We recommend future studies with a larger population who received CMR to extend the generalizability of our findings and to determine the influence of factors such as caries risk and severity of defects on survival time